Santa Barbara hotel drops Fess Parker name

The Fess Parker Doubletree in Santa Barbara has been renamed the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort following a $14 million renovation.

Located about two miles east of downtown Santa Barbara, the hotel upgraded all 360 guestrooms as well as its 40,000-plus square feet of meeting space. The hotel features the semi-enclosed Plaza Del Sol meetings venue, which offers 180-degree views of the Pacific Ocean. The Roundhouse is an all-day restaurant and Rodney's Grill specializes in steaks and seafood.

The hotel continues to be owned by Park Hotels & Resorts and the family of late actor Fess Parker, who gained fame as the star of Walt Disney's "Davy Crockett" television miniseries in the 1950s and later portrayed the lead character in the "Daniel Boone" TV series in the 1960s.

He developed what was originally a Red Lion Inn in 1985 after extensive wrangling with both local officials and environmentalists. Parker also opened the Fess Parker Winery & Vineyard in 1989. That vineyard is in nearby Los Olivos.